


Nine Observations

by Lisafer



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gigolas Week, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 18:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1195518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisafer/pseuds/Lisafer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time the members of the Fellowship recognized/acknowledged the potential in Legolas and Gimli as friends and/or more.</p><p>This is written in honor of Gigolas Week. The first prompt was “First Times”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nine Observations

1\. Gandalf

The Dwarf and Elf were at each other's throats again, and Gandalf could tolerate no more. Back and forth it had been since they set out from Rivendell: a snide comment here from one, a bitter remark there from the other. A passive comment with the undertone of warfare, a response from the other that made it obvious that the insult had been recognized, and usually an answer that was shrouded in kindness to make the other seem even worse for having said something so obviously false in the first place.

He had known that their journey would not be an easy one, but he had been a fool to hope that none of the animosity would come from within.

Gandalf did his best to take no sides, and to remind both Gimli and Legolas the good in the other. At the Western Gates he spoke to them of a time when there was still close friendship between different races – even that of Elves and Dwarves.

“It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned,” Gimli was the first to point out.

“I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves,” Legolas countered.

Gandalf sighed internally, and took a moment to gaze at them. Gimli's face was twisted into an expression of annoyance; Legolas looked haughty and aloof. But they kept their eyes upon each other, clearly glad of getting a rise out of the other one.

“I have heard both,” Gandalf finally began, “and I will not give judgment now. But I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both.” He barked instructions to the others to get ready to enter the mine, and by the time he turned back to the problem at hand, the Elf and Dwarf were studying the blank wall of the cliff. Gimli tapped the rock with his axe, high and low, while Legolas leaned his ear to the stone, listening. 

_They can solve problems if they put their heads together,_ Gandalf thought, sighing openly this time. _If only they would realize that the problem of their relationship can be resolved in the same manner._

 

2\. Boromir

“He saved your life,” Boromir told Gimli. They walked side-by side, Boromir carrying Samwise upon his back. The Hobbit was barely awake, he was so fatigued.

Gimli grunted. “He saved all of us.” He walked with his eyes locked directly ahead, not gazing at the increasingly wooded surroundings, nor with any caution for where he placed his feet. He trudged diligently, and Boromir wondered if he was solely focused on on walking so he could refrain from thinking of his sorrow – sorrow for Gandalf, sorrow for his lost kin. His voice was raw with grief, and Boromir could not forget the Dwarf's rage in Moria, how he looked like every cut of his axe was revenge for the evil that took his fellow Dwarves' lives.

“I speak not of Gandalf,” Boromir said, his voice low. “I speak of Legolas. When you were dragged away from your cousin's tomb, it was the Elf who grabbed you. He would not let you perish by the hands of those foul creatures.”

Gimli looked up at Boromir. “The Elf?” he asked, confused. 

“You were overcome with grief and rage, so I am not surprised that you did not know whose hand pulled you along. It was not me, nor Aragorn or Gandalf – though I'm sure any of us would have, if Legolas had not moved first and quickest.” Boromir paused to readjust Sam. “The two of you fight each other so much, yet I know in my heart that were the roles reversed you would have done the same.”

“And what do you know of the ways of Elves and Dwarves?” Gimli asked sharply. “Do you not understand how deep wounds cut into Dwarven memory?”

“I know far less than I should,” Boromir acknowledged. “Perhaps an Elf saving the life of a Dwarf is a trifle, but perhaps it is more likely that this will be the first cure for what ails the broken friendship.”

Gimli paused and finally met his eyes. “Aye, that could be the case.”

 

3\. Frodo

Lothlórien could not help but be a comfort to the Fellowship, with its offer of safety and food, and peace of mind. While the Hobbits did not entirely enjoy their meeting with the Lady of the Wood, given that she had unsettled them greatly, there was still a wholeness in their rest that Frodo suspected he would never feel again.

And some of the others seemed to feel the same. Aragorn slept like the dead, the creases of worry removed from his face for the first time Frodo had ever seen. Legolas had taken to wandering Lórien. Gimli and Boromir kept their thoughts to themselves, and did their best to stay out of the path of the Elves who would speak with the travelers.

“Let us fill our water skins,” Gimli suggested, nodding toward the cool stream that flowed through the heart of the Golden Wood. Together they walked toward the bank and knelt.

“Ori and Balin were Bilbo's friends,” Frodo said, his voice low.

“Aye, and they were friends of my family, as well.”

“There was no time to grieve, and tell you how sorry I am that Moria brought you no good news.”

Gimli shook his head. “The Dwarves will never reclaim Khazad-dûm, at least not in my lifetime. Maybe we are fools to dream.”

“Tis never foolish to dream.” Legolas's cool, sweet voice was a surprise to both Frodo and Gimli. “Come and walk with me, friends. Let us explore Lórien.”

Frodo had never heard Legolas refer to Gimli as a friend. Judging by the doubt in Gimli's face, he had never heard it either. 

“I would not,” Frodo said, for he was exhausted from the previous day's walking. 

“But you, Gimli?” Legolas asked. “Will you join me, even if Frodo does not?”

Gimli stood very slowly, his eyes locked on the Elf's. “That I will,” he answered. “You can tell me what, if anything, the stone of Khazad-dûm said to you as we traversed its halls.”

The two of them walked together, talking as though they had been long friends. Frodo did not understand what brought about the change, unless it was Gladriel's respect for Dwarves that altered both of their impressions. But he was glad of the change, for even though both had strength to spare, Frodo knew that everyone in this Fellowship would need someone to rely upon, at the end of all things.

 

4\. Aragorn

“I would cut off your head, beard and all, Master Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground,” the Man of Rohan said fiercely after his wit was insulted.

Aragorn barely had a moment to groan when Legolas's arrow was nocked. “He stands not alone. You would die before your stroke fell.”

He moved to stand between the friends and their new foe, wincing at Éomer's raised sword and speaking very quickly to control the damage they had done. And throughout their conversation of Hobbits and Uruks, and the state of the Riddermark, a question formed at the back of Aragorn's mind. 

The journey from Amon Hen had been full of surprises; the two were no longer champing at the bit in order to insult each other, or jumping to a conclusion that the other meant the worst. Nay, they had been friendly since Lórien, and Aragorn hadn't spent much time wondering at the change. He had simply been grateful that their coverage of five and forty leagues had not been filled with arguments and opinions.

Now, looking at them, he couldn't help but notice how they guarded one another from the Riders, how their backs turned slightly toward each other – a formation he was accustomed to seeing in groups of both Elven or Dwarven warriors. They were shield-brothers now. His time in King Thengel's army had shown him this trait in fighters, and he saw it regularly with his fellow rangers. He knew that Legolas's threat to Éomer was true: he would kill to protect Gimli.

And when they mounted their horses of Rohan, and he saw the ease in which Elf and Dwarf moved together, he wondered if there could be more than friendship between these two, who needed some bit of light in their terribly dark journey.

 

5\. Gimli

It was the sight of the Elf, coming out of Helm's Deep, that gave Gimli the most joy he'd felt all day. Even the wonder of the caves below were lessened by the happy jolt through his heart at the fair face attached to a whole, live body. 

“Forty-two, Master Legolas!” he cried out loudly, for if he did not say that, there was no telling what words he might throw out to the Elf in front of all the men of Rohan. He rambled, not quite aware what he said when in his heart he simply wanted to thank Mahal that Legolas was alive and well.

“I do not grudge you the game,” Legolas replied in a low, pleased voice, “so glad I am to see you on your legs.” He touched his long, slender fingers to the bandage wrapped around Gimli's scalp, and Gimli endured the pain of it with a wince. Not for the whole world would he pull away when Legolas moved to touch him.

“I am fine,” he said, finding crumbled rock to sit upon. He was tired, nothing more. 

“May I re-bandage your head?”

“Tis nothing worth the trouble,” Gimli insisted. “Give me time to rest and ale to drink and all will be well on the morrow.”

“Aragorn will not let it go untreated,” Legolas pointed out. 

Gimli growled in irritation. It really was but a scrape, and not worth the effort either would put into it. He wondered if he should acquiesce to Legolas now, or refuse in order to make him fret. While Aragorn was certainly versed in treating cuts and gashes, a very honest voice in Gimli's head pointed out that he would rather have Legolas's hands attend his wound.

And with that realization, Gimli's world was completely altered around him. Love was not always simple for the Dwarvenkind, and often it came with as much sorrow as it did joy. But he cared not – once the feeling was recognized, it was too late to change the nature of his heart. 

 

6\. Merry

A Hobbit's first love was probably comfort, if not comfort in combination with good food, good drink, and a good bit of weed. But Merry, personally, felt that adding old friends to that combination made it all the more comforting. He was pleased to see Gandalf again, of course, but even happier to see Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. He'd wondered what had become of them, and seeing them now riding in to Isengard together gave him more happiness than his pipe did. 

Legolas and Gimli shared a mount, and at first Merry suspected it was because a Dwarf could not be expected to ride anything larger than a pony, as his legs did not hang low enough. But then he noticed how snugly they sat together, and how Gimli's fingers were laced through Legolas's belt. And how Legolas had a peculiar lift in one corner of his mouth – the tiniest of smiles – every time he turned to say something to the Dwarf.

Merry had seen that sort of smile before; it was the look that rarely left Sam's face when they drank in Hobbiton. It was the face many a smitten maiden Hobbit had thrown at Frodo, despite his noticing it seldom. It was the kind of smile he had seen even on the fair face of the Lady Galadriel, when they were all together in Lórien. It was delight.

Of course, he wondered when everything had changed. Surely by the time they'd left Lothlórien they were friends – they'd insisted on sharing a boat together, after all. At Amon Hen, when Frodo and Boromir had gone missing, they'd moved as one unit in search of the pair. Had their time following Pippin and him and the Uruks spent growing closer? Had their fight against the hosts of Saruman showed them what they couldn't afford to lose?

Merry was no stranger to love and affection, and it pleased him to see it wherever he went. But seeing it here and now gave his heart lightness that he would not have expected amidst the heaviness of their path. He smoked happily and shared his weed and wine with both of them, and looked for any signs that they were aware of just how much they enjoyed each other's company. For he knew the stubbornness of Dwarves and Elves, and knew that they could lie even to themselves if they wanted to.

 

7\. Legolas

They had quietly made their bargain with one another to journey the world after this work was taken care of, and it warmed Legolas's heart. He did not particularly want to see caverns, but his curiosity was sparked by the passion of Gimli's words.

And when he spoke to Treebeard, requesting permission to explore Fangorn with Gimli, he uncovered a profound truth in his casual: “While Gimli lives I shall not come to Fangorn alone.” The words fell off of his tongue with ease, but his chest constricted at the notion. He did not know if his heart was reacting to the realization that he wanted to journey with the stout Dwarf, or to the notion of a life after Gimli had passed.

He very carefully reached to his side, placing his own hand over the one that gripped him tightly. He felt Gimli's posture straighten, and the cool air slip between them as the Dwarf pulled away, but their hands did not move. 

“Do you know what you're doing, Master Elf?” came the question, in a surprisingly soft voice.

“I do nothing without purpose, Master Dwarf,” he replied, hearing the smile in his words. Gimli's body relaxed against him again. “We shall come back here one day,” he promised, “when all is said and done. I will have explored your caves and you will come to my forest to learn even more of my ways.”

Gimli was quiet for a moment that grew longer with every breath Legolas didn't take. And finally he roared with laughter, his shaking body pushing into Legolas's. “Is that how an Elf attempts bawdiness?” he asked, thankfully dropping to a whisper again.

“Is a Dwarf better?”

“If we live through this mess, you will know that to be the case.”

They continued on to Edoras, hand over hand, and whispering promises and threats to one another. Legolas marveled that everything could change with one simple realization – but then it struck him that nothing had. They were still Dwarf and Elf at odds with each other, just with no way of knowing who was winning the argument.

 

8\. Sam

“One can't be everywhere at once, I suppose. But I missed a lot, seemingly.” Having his own adventure – a struggle that was worse than any other he'd known, no less – meant that Sam missed out on everything else. Hobbits growing from sampling Ent-draughts, Gondor losing its steward and preparing to gain a king, Gandalf coming back from what they all knew was certain death. It felt like Sam had missed a life's worth of ongoings, and he was running to catch up.

“Did you see that Legolas and Gimli are rarely out of each other's presences?” he asked Frodo. “A far change from the way they were in Rivendell and after, don't you think?”

“I think we are all changed,” Frodo said. “Theirs began long ago, in Lothlórien, I would suspect.”

“Yes, I knew they'd become friends then, but...” Sam trailed off, trying to find the right words. He'd noticed the way they always sat together, always looked at one another during a conversation. He didn't know when it may have happened on their journey, but Merry and Strider hadn't seemed a bit surprised at their behavior. 

And Gandalf had even been amused at one of their squabbles, saying that it was much more tolerable knowing that they knew how to work out their disagreements on their own. Sam didn't know how love worked between a Dwarf and an Elf, given what he know of their families' animosity. But he liked to see the way they leaned in to one another when they spoke, and the light in their eyes when someone mentioned the other one's name.

“Yes, Sam.” Frodo's voice was pleased, though still tired. “I've heard them planning to journey together, and help to rebuild Minas Tirith. Legolas wants to leave Middle Earth eventually, though, and I don't know who will be hurt more by the parting.”

“He won't leave,” Sam said, with certainty. “At least, he won't leave while Gimli is alive. That's what he told me, any way.”

 

9\. Pippin

They rested at Helm's Deep for two days on their journey homeward. The fortress was amazing, and Pippin listened carefully to the king's description of the battle that had taken place. He could not imagine Saruman's army before the walls, though the damage itself was evident.

On the second day Legolas and Gimli had their own adventure – going down into the caverns below, the Glittering Caves Gimli had been praising since they'd been reunited in Isengard. 

“I don't see why they didn't want us to come,” Pippin complained to the others, biting down on the end of his pipe angrily. “Just because we're not traveling with them to Fangorn doesn't mean we wouldn't want to see something like the caves.”

Merry and Frodo exchanged looks, shaking their heads. It was something Pippin had seen plenty of back in the Shire, and it still annoyed him. Sam pulled his pipe from his lips and moved as though to speak, but then thought better of it and replaced it. Gandalf made an irritated noise and left the group, muttering about the foolishness of Tooks. 

“Pippin, let them have some time to themselves,” Aragorn said softly. His gaze was as stern as a father's.

Pippin remained silent, smoking his pipe and enjoying the summer heat, though cool caverns filled with glittering gems and veins of ore would be preferable. When Gimli and Legolas finally returned, he was the first to ask about the caves. Merry and Frodo exchanged another look – as if they knew some incredible secret that Pippin was too dim to recognize.

“I cannot answer, for I don't have the words to describe its wonder,” Legolas answered solemnly.

“I'm asking only about the majesty of the caves,” Pippin said, rolling his eyes. “Not for the details of whatever lovebirds would think to do in them.”

Merry's pipe dropped from his mouth. “Pip, you mean you knew they're together that way and you still wanted to go?”

Pippin nodded. “I've suspected them since I saw Legolas save Gimli in Moria – but that doesn't change the fact that I wanted to see the Glittering Caves.”

Gimli gave his hearty Dwarven laugh and clapped a hand on Pippin's shoulder. “I shall show you any time you would like to go, Master Pippin.”

“Tis a strange world indeed, when Peregrin Took understands our feelings before even we do,” Legolas said to Gimli, shaking his head.

“There's a first time for everything,” said Frodo, his voice filled with mirth.

**Author's Note:**

> Several recognizable lines were taken directly from the book, in the chapters: "A Journey in the Dark", "The Riders of Rohan", "The Road to Isengard", "The Voice of Saruman" and "The Field of Cormallen".
> 
> When Sam mentions Legolas not being willing to leave while Gimli is alive... that's one of my favorite Tolkien bits that never made it into the books (alas), referenced in 'Sauron Defeated'. Legolas doesn't outright tell Sam, as far as the text goes, but Sam tells it to Frodo-lad with such certainty that I like to imagine a conversation having taken place. ;)


End file.
